True to our word, LADOT Bike Blog showed up bright and early this Tuesday morning at Union Station with our rain gear on. Once there, we met up with over 50 other bicyclists who had come out for the Downtown LA Ride. Rain had slowed to just the barest of misting by the time the ride took off, and a great time was had by all.

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Despite the intermittently rainy conditions, we here at the LADOT Bike Blog just received some good news for Bike Week LA. We just got confirmation from Metro that the Downtown LA Ride will take place tomorrow morning, rain or shine. While an extremely heavy downpour could shut the ride down for good, a light rain won’t deter us from getting things started. Metro, LADOT, LAPD, and CICLE will all be on hand to help bicyclists enjoy a fun ride through downtown. LAPD will provide an escort for the assembled riders and members of CICLE will act as “sweepers” at the back of the pack to make sure no one falls behind.

We highly recommend that you bring along a little rain gear, just in case. If bicyclists in cities like Portland can brave inclement weather in droves, why not in Los Angeles? We’ll see you, bright and early at 8:00 AM, with our rain pants on.

We’ll have photos from the Downtown LA Ride, along with photos from today’s Blessing of the Bikes, up tomorrow afternoon on LADOT Bike Blog.

Bike Week LA started off on the right foot this morning at the North Hollywood Metro Station. Representatives from Metro, LADOT and LACBC were on hand along with camera crews and bicyclists excited for Bike Week LA to begin.

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LADOT Bike Blog is getting pretty excited for Bike Week LA. It doesn’t get any better than the chance to share the joys of biking to work with people who might be trying it for the first time. We’ll be covering events throughout the week (including the Downtown LA Ride on Wednesday), and we wanted to give a final heads-up for where we’ll be on Monday before going into the weekend.

Last year's Bike Week LA Kickoff

Bike Week LA Kickoff

Monday morning at 8:30 AM, Metro and LADOT will kick off Bike Week LA at the North Hollywood Metro Station. Prizes will be raffled away, plenty of free bike swag will be handed out, and a good time will be had by all.

Holding the kickoff for Bike Week LA at the NoHo Metro Station is a fitting location; Metro’s recent repeal of its peak-hour bike ban on trains means it’s that much easier for people to commute to work on Metro and ride the last mile to their work location on their bike.

The NoHo Metro Station is also a hub of bike infrastructure in the Valley. The Orange Line Bikeway and the Chandler Boulevard bike path are both accessible from the NoHo station as are the bike lanes on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Riverside Drive, and Colfax Avenue. This extensive network could soon be connected to Hollywood with bike lanes on Lankershim Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard. We’re still taking suggestions on how best to design these bike lanes, so feel free to make your voice heard.

There are tons of events going on this week and throughout the month. To stay up to date on all of them, visit Streetsblog’s excellent Bike Month 2011 page.

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As Bike Week gets closer, more exciting details are emerging about the various events that are going to take place throughout the City (and the region). On Wednesday May 18th, the annual Downtown LA Ride will allow riders to see just how accessible Downtown LA employment destinations, restaurants, museums, and coffee shops are on a bike. This year’s route was specifically designed to interface with existing Metro Rail stations to stress just how accessible transit and bicycling have become in Los Angeles – you can find the route map here. One notable example of how well transit and bicycles get along is the removal of the peak hour bicycle restrictions on Metro Rail.

The event will begin in front of Union Station on Alameda Street, and will be supported again this year by LAPD. Participants are expected to arrive at 8:00 am, with a planned departure time of 8:30 am. We hope to see you there!

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I got a bright and early start on Thursday morning to check out the festivities for Bike to Work Day. Since I had spent the night in Glendale, my first stop out of the 39 Bike to Work Day pit-stops across the city was at The Bicycle Mart on Brand Blvd. in beautiful Glendale.

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Update: One of my awesome LADOT colleagues took some photos of the Downtown Bike Ride as well. You can check them out here on the LADOT Bike Blog flickr page.

Yesterday morning, LADOT Bike Blog took part in the Dowtown Bicycle Ride. Starting and ending at Olvera Plaza, the four mile loop went through many downtown districts. Metro and LADOT staff were on hand for the ride as well as an escort from LAPD’s bicycle squad. Young and old, fixies and fold-ups, spandex and suits were all in attendance. (more…)